Cooking for Kids - Where was this when I needed it?

Recently I received this book SuperFoods for Babies & Children by Annabel Karmel- now, since my kids are all grown up my first reaction was, "I guess I'll keep this for when grandchildren arrive"(and NO, don't go reading anything into that statement). My second reaction was - just from the cover - WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I REALLY NEEDED YOU!!!

Like many kids, mine were finicky - and hated mostly everything. I've written about Sharron's "eat only one kind of sandwich for a whole year" kind of finicky. Don't remember if I shared the other horror story we like to remind Joanna of. When she was a toddler she seemed to hate everything - everything except raisins thrown on the floor. She'd crawl around and daintily pick them up one at a time and eat them. Fortunately they both grew up healthy and now have become very adventurous eaters. I don't believe they even have any pet peeves.

Just look at the cover and you'll understand that the "don't play with your food!" adage doesn't apply here. Since I don't have little ones at home, I thought of the next best thing - my cutest six year old niece Katie- who really only eats a few things - like grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti (which really just means spaghetti noodles with a little margarine), chicken fingers and a few other things. I asked her if she'd like to come over and help me cook from my new book and would she like to bring a friend. We've often made cookies so I know she loves to help out. In fact, I hear she's told all her friends and they all want to come over!!! YIKES!!!

The book and Katie's response reminds me of the fun (and chaos) I used to have when Joanna & Sharron were little. We made challah (it's a hysterical story), had birthday parties where all the kids made and decorated their own cupcakes, or made real vegetable Mr Potato Heads.

So now we're just coordinating the cooking session.....check back in a couple of weeks for the results. And if you have little ones, I highly recommend the book.